Device for controlling at least one control and/or regulating system arranged in a vehicle

ABSTRACT

In a device for controlling at least one control or regulating system arranged in a vehicle. Means are provided for detecting a driving style quantity classifying the driver&#39;s driving style. The operation of at least one control or regulating system is automatically adapted to the driver&#39;s driving style as a function of the driving style quantity. In addition, means are provided for allowing the driver to modify the operation of the control or regulating system that has been automatically adapted to his driving style.

This application claims the priority of German patent document 101 60058.5, filed 6 Dec. 2001 (PCT International Patent Application No.PCT/EP02/13411, filed 28 Nov. 2002), the disclosure of which isexpressly incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling at leastone control and/or regulating system in a vehicle.

Devices and methods of the generic type are known from the prior art inmany modified forms. For example, German patent document DE 42 33 938 A1discloses a shifting device for an automatic transmission of a motorvehicle, which is controlled by an electronic control unit. The shiftingdevice provides a selector lever, which can be pivoted in either of twoperpendicular planes. The drive positions “P”, “R”, “N” and “D” areselected in the one pivoting plane, while individual gear upshiftlimitation steps can be shifted by manipulating the selector lever inthe other. In this example, the selector lever is preferably a steeringcolumn lever. A recall from the gear upshift limitation steps ispossible by pressing the lever down out of the shift position “D”. Withthis automatic transmission, the different gears are provided in fixedpre-specified steps, which are determined in accordance with a storedshifting program according to the speed of the vehicle. A step can beshifted to the next higher or next lower gear by means of the selectorlever. A driving style adaptation is not provided with this automatictransmission. However, the driver is able to set different drivingprograms by turning a knob.

A control system for a gearbox is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,686,in which the driver can shift the mode of operation of the transmissionbetween an automatic mode, a semi-automatic mode and a manual mode. Adriving style adaptation is not provided with this transmission.

In a control system for an automatic transmission disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 5,436,834, shifting points for the transmission are matched to thebehavior of the driver. The engine torque and the vehicle accelerationare evaluated for this purpose. The driver has no way of retrospectivelycontrolling the adaptation of the shifting points that has been made, inaccordance with his own conceptions, by means of so-called trimmingwithin certain limits.

An arrangement for controlling the gear shifting of an automatictransmission of a motor vehicle is disclosed in German patent documentDE 43 32 265 C1, in which the basic shifting program can be controlledadaptively. The shifting program is adapted depending on the operationby the driver of a selector device, with which the driver extends orreduces an upshift limitation. The driver has no way of retrospectivelycontrolling the adaptation of the shifting points that has been made, inaccordance with his own conceptions, by means of so-called trimmingwithin certain limits.

German patent document DE 44 01 416 C2 discloses a method for graduallyclassifying a driving style between a calm and a dynamic style ofdriving. For this purpose, measured quantities indicative of drivingstyle are scanned during a journey by means of a vehicle sensor system,and at least one driving style indicator is determined by means of atleast some of the recorded measurements using an associated previouslystored measured quantity/driving style characteristic in each case. Inthis manner, it is possible to determine an acceleration indicatordescribing acceleration behavior, a braking indicator describing brakingbehavior and a steering indicator describing the steering behavior.These quantities can then be used to adjust the input parameters forcontrol or regulating devices of different control or regulatingsystems, to adapt the driving style of a motor vehicle dependent in aspecifically definable manner on the acceleration, braking and/orsteering indicator.

The operator's driving style is classified separately with regard to theacceleration behavior, the braking behavior and the steering behavior,in order to take into account the fact that the driving style cannotusually be satisfactorily classified by means of a single indicator.Rather, it has been shown that it is expedient in this regard toconsider the longitudinal and the transverse dynamics separately and,furthermore, to differentiate between the acceleration and brakingbehavior of the longitudinal dynamics. In comparison with a more relaxeddriving style, a dynamic driving style is characterized by rapidacceleration, late but severe braking, and high transverse accelerationsaround curves. In the latter case, that the operator may not control,for example, the gas pedal, brake pedal or steering wheel angle (whichrepresent his control quantities); accordingly, the control comparisontakes place with the vehicle accelerations in the longitudinal andtransverse direction, about which he receives visual and tactilefeedback. As a result, the operator's wish is automatically detectedduring his driving style so that the system can be adjusted in goodtime. There is no provision for the driver to be able to controlretrospectively the adaptive adjustments to his driving style of thecontrol or regulating devices that have been made, in accordance withhis own conceptions, by means of so-called trimming within certainlimits.

The above-described methods and devices, in which control or at leastone control and/or regulating system arranged in a vehicle isautomatically adapted to the driver's driving style, have the followingdisadvantage: the driver has no way of consciously modifying theautomatic control of the operating mode that has been implemented basedon his driving style. That is, the driver has relinquished his controlover the control and/or regulating system, and cannot intervene in thesystem to adjust it according to his own wishes.

One object of the present invention is to provide an improved method andapparatus for automatically adapting the operating mode of a controland/or regulating system to a driver's driving style as a function of adriving style quantity, and to improve the support given to the driver.

This and other objects and advantages are achieved by the method andapparatus according to the invention, which includes means for detectinga driving style quantity classifying a driver's driving style. The atleast one control and/or regulating system is then controlled in such away as to automatically adapt the operating mode of the control and/orregulating system to the driver's driving style as a function of thedriving style quantity. In addition, means are provided with which thedriver can exert control over and modify the operating mode of thecontrol and/or regulating system that has been automatically adapted tohis driving style according to objective criteria.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present inventionwill become apparent from the following detailed description of theinvention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows part of a vehicle's electrical system; and

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of components which enable thedriver to modify an operating mode of a control and/or regulating systemthat has been adapted to his driving style.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An electrical system is shown in FIG. 1, for a vehicle which includes aseat, a drive slip regulator (ASR) an electronic gas pedal, an enginegearbox management system (MGM) and a spring damping system as a controlor regulating system. A central unit is provided for each of thesesystems, which, for simplicity and also in the case of actual regulatorsystems, is described in the following as a control unit. The seatcontrol unit 4 controls the lateral support 10 on the left and right ofa seat, for example of a driver's seat. Details of such a control aredisclosed, for example, in German patent document DE 197 50 223 A1, thecontents of which shall be part of the present description. The ASRcontrol unit 15 controls throttle valve and brakes 11 to preventexcessive drive slip in the case of propulsive thrust. The electricalgas control unit 16 controls the throttle valve 12 depending on theoperation of the gas pedal by the driver. The MGM control unit 17controls both the engine and the gearbox 13, and the spring dampingcontrol unit 18 controls the vehicle level regulator 14.

Connected to the input side of the control units are the required outputsignals of a vehicle sensor system 9, which measures the necessaryquantities resulting from the behavior of the driver 8 during a journey(i.e., due to the actuation of the steering wheel, the gas pedal or thebrake pedal, for example). Normally, the following quantities are fed tothe individual control units: Transverse acceleration and vehicle speedare fed to the seat control unit 4. The speeds of the individual wheelsare fed to the ASR control unit 15. At least one quantity, whichrepresents the driver's actuation of the gas pedal, is fed to theelectrical gas control unit 16. Quantities, which represent the driver'scommands, the operating state of the engine and the operating state ofthe transmission are fed to the MGM control unit 17. Quantitiesrepresenting longitudinal, transverse and vertical accelerations of thevehicle, the slew rate, the angle through which the steering wheel isturned, and the wheel loads as well as quantities, which represent thelevel of each individual wheel, for example, are fed to the springdamping control unit 18.

In addition to the systems listed above, the motor vehicle has thebenefit of an anti-lock braking system (ABS) in a manner, which is notexplicitly shown.

In addition, the output signal of a unit 3 for adapting the drivingstyle acts on the input parameters of the respective control units, insuch a way that the latter are adapted in their control behavior to aparticular driving style, which lies gradually between a very calm and avery dynamic driving style. Depending on the driving style prescribed bythe driving style adaptation unit 3, the control units therefore controltheir respectively associated actuating elements in different ways.Hence, when a relaxed driving style is prescribed, the seat behaves withan accent on comfort, the ASR behaves stably, the electrical gasregulator insensitively, the spring damping system with an accent oncomfort and the MGM according to consumption-optimized gearshiftcharacteristics. On the other hand, when a dynamic driving style isprescribed, the seat behaves insensitively, the ASR with powerfultraction, the electrical gas regulator sensitively, the spring dampingsystem in a sporty manner and the MGM according to sporty gearshiftcharacteristics. Between these two extremes, the control or regulatingbehavior that has been adapted for the currently determined drivingstyle can be adjusted gradually in a large number of steps orcontinuously.

The driving style, to which the control units are matched, is determinedby the driving style adaptation unit 3 based on selected output signalsfrom the vehicle sensor system 9. For this purpose, the required sensorsignals, which are indicative of the driving style (and are specified inmore detail below) are fed to said driving style adaptation unit. On thebasis of these measurements, the driving style adaptation unit 3determines the appropriate driving style based on a classificationaccording to the method described in the following. This is stored as aprogram in a memory in the driving style adaptation unit 3, which alsocontains the further hardware required for the described driving styleclassification. The latter comprises components which are familiar tothe person skilled in the art and need not therefore be shown in moredetail here.

For classification of the driving style, the method provides for theseparate determination of indicators for longitudinal accelerationbehavior, the braking behavior and steering (i.e., transverseacceleration) behavior. In this case, larger indicators correspond to amore dynamic driving style. For the determination of each of the threeindicators, the front wheel speeds left and right, the status of an ASRinformation lamp, the power to weight ratio of the vehicle and,optionally, the state of the reversing lamp are recorded as measuredquantities indicative of the driving style recorded by the vehiclesensor system 9. In addition, the throttle valve demand and, optionally,the position of a kick-down shift are recorded for determining theacceleration indicator; the state of the brake light shift and,optionally, information on the state of the ABS regulator are recordedfor determining the braking indicator; and, optionally, the steeringwheel angle and, also optionally, the transverse acceleration arerecorded for determining the steering indicator.

The recording of quantities designated as “optional” can be carried outby means of appropriate sensors, as long as these are provided in thevehicle sensor system 9. Otherwise, the appropriate values arecalculated indirectly from the measurements of the wheel speeds and/orthe throttle valve demand. Inaccuracies in this regard do notsignificantly affect the result of the classification. If theinformation from the reversing light is omitted, then reverse drivingmaneuvers are also classified. Although the method is not basicallydesigned for this, no errors or only negligibly small errors result.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of those components which arerequired to enable the driver to modify an operating mode of a controland/or regulating system that has been adapted to his driving style.

The following description is based, by way of example only, on aso-called dynamic driving seat as a control or regulating system, suchas is described in German patent document DE 197 50 223 A1, referred topreviously. In place of such a dynamic driving seat, any of the controlor regulating systems shown in FIG. 1 or other control or regulatingsystems not dealt with in the present exemplary embodiment can be usedin a corresponding manner.

In a dynamic driving seat, the right and left lateral support 10 areadjustable, preferably steplessly.

As shown in German patent document DE 197 50 223 A1, in a dynamicdriving seat, the lateral support is adjusted by feeding compressed airto air cushions built into the seat, via solenoid valves. Consequently,the air pressure determines the amount of lateral support. The followingis to be understood by a stepless adjustment of the lateral support: forthe operation of the dynamic driving seat, a range of values isspecified, within which the value of the air pressure of the compressedair supplied to the air cushions can move. At the same time, thesolenoid valves are controlled so that this air pressure can assume anyvalue within this range of values. If the air pressure changes, thischange should occur continuously. As the air pressure can be adjustedsteplessly, the lateral support can also be adjusted steplessly.

A stepped adjustment of the lateral support is also possible as analternative to a stepless adjustment. In this case, the air pressure canonly assume individual, discrete values within an associated range ofvalues; and change in the air pressure no longer occurs continuously,but in the form of steps. Here, the difference between individual,adjacent values must be sufficiently small, however, that these valueslie close to one another and that thus a quasi-stepless impression isobtained and the control or regulating system can be seen as aquasi-stepless settable or adjustable system.

The above comments on a stepless or stepped adjustment also apply in acorresponding manner to the control or regulating systems shown in FIG.1 and to other systems not shown in this Figure.

As already described in conjunction with FIG. 1, the output signals of avehicle sensor system 9, which records the necessary measured quantitiesresulting from the behavior of the driver 8 during a journey, are fed tothe input side of the seat control unit 4, and to the driving styleadaptation unit 3. The latter determines the driving style quantity FWGas a function of these output signals, and supplies it to the seatcontrol unit 4, which automatically adapts the operating mode of theseat control unit 4 to the driver's driving style as a function thereof.That is, the seat control unit 4 determines a control quantity 1 as afunction of the output signals of the vehicle sensor system 9 fed to it,in accordance with the operating mode that has been set as a function ofthe driving style quantity FWG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the system according to the invention includes afurther control device which the driver 8 can operate to modify theoperating mode of the seat control unit 4 that has been adapted to hisdriving style. In the illustrated embodiment, the control device 2 hasthree buttons. By pressing the “Auto” button, operation of the controland/or regulating systems, including the seat control unit 4, areautomatically adapted to the driver's driving style as a function of thedriving style quantity FWG. By pressing the two buttons “+” and “−”, thedriver can modify the operating mode of the control and/or regulatingsystem, including the seat control unit 4, that has been adapted to hisdriving style. If the driver has not pressed the “Auto” button, then thecontrol and/or regulating systems will be in an operating state in whichno adaptation of their operating mode to the driver's driving styletakes place. An evaluation of the operation of the two buttons “+” and“−” is not provided in this operating state. As an alternative to thisdesign, it is also possible that the two buttons “+” and “−” are alsoevaluated, even if the “Auto” button has not been pressed. In thisdesign, the control and/or regulating systems can be operated entirelyin a manual mode.

Alternatively, control 2 device may have only the two buttons “+” and“−”. In this case, the control and/or regulating systems are setpermanently so that their operating mode is automatically adapted to thedriver's driving style as a function of the driving style quantity FWG.The driver is unable to deactivate this function.

If a calm driving style is detected in the means of detection device 3,then the operating mode of the seat control unit 4 is adapted so thatthe lateral support of the seat tends to be set to minimum. If, on theother hand, a sporty driving style is detected, then the operating modeof the seat control unit 4 is adapted so that the lateral support of theseat tends to be set to maximum. As long as the driver does not operateeither of the “+” and “−” buttons, the left and right lateral support 10is set according to the automatically determined control signal 1.

As soon as the driver operates one of the two “+” and “−” buttons, thecontrol signal 1 provided by the seat control unit 4 is trimmedaccording to the demand signal A, which results from the operation ofthe buttons “+” and “−”, resulting in the actual control signal 7. Thedemand signal A resulting from the operation of the “+” and “−” buttonsis positive when the “+” button is pressed and negative when the “−”button is pressed. The actual control signal 7 is given by superimposingthe demand signal A on the control signal 1, as shown in FIG. 2.

As a result of trimming the control signal 1 with the demand signal A,the driver 8 can modify the operating mode of the seat control unit 4that has been adapted to his driving style. The driver 8 can thus changethe control signal 1 for the lateral support that has been automaticallydetermined based on driver-dependent regulating/control quantities, byoperating the “+” and “−” buttons. The value A that is thereby setincreases the control signal 1 when the “+” button is pressed or reducesit when the “−” button is pressed. The trimmed control signal 7determines the setting for the right and left lateral support 10 whenthe driver has modified the operating mode of the control and/orregulating system that has been adapted to his driving style.

If the trimmed control signal 7 exceeds an upper trim limit 5 or fallsbelow a lower trim limit 6, it is set to a maximum value, whichcorresponds to the upper trim limit 5, or to a minimum value, whichcorresponds to the lower trim limit 6 respectively. As a result, thetrimmed control signal 7 always remains within a specified range ofvalues.

The scale shown in FIG. 2, which ranges from a value “min” to a value“max”, shows the possible range of adjustment of the control signal 1when no trimming is carried out by the driver, or of the trimmed controlsignal 7 when trimming is carried out by the driver. The range of thetrim, which is specified by the lower and upper trim limit, typicallycorresponds to 5-10% of the total adjustment range.

Trimming can take place continuously or in discrete steps. The trimrange lies between the lower trim limit 6 and the upper trim limit 5.The trim limits 5 and 6 lie within the adjustment range and, ifrequired, can correspond to the limits of the adjustment range.

The trim control device 2 can be used in all control and/or regulatingsystems, the operating mode of which is automatically adapted to thedriver's driving style as a function of a driving style quantity (FWG).As already mentioned, all the control and/or regulating systems in FIG.1 come into consideration in this regard. As a further example, althoughnot shown in FIG. 1, the control device 2 may be used with asteer-by-wire system, in which the steering ratio is automaticallyadjustable.

In the individual control and/or regulating systems in FIG. 1, thedriver can take control (i.e., modify the operating mode of the controland/or regulating system that has been adapted to his driving style) bytrimming as follows:

Seat Control Unit 4:

A dynamic driving seat incorporated into the vehicle is adjusted withthe help of the seat control unit. Compressed air is fed into the aircushions fitted in the seat as a function of the transverse accelerationand vehicle speed that are fed as input signals to the seat controlunit. When the operating mode of the seat control unit is automaticallyadapted to the driver's driving style, the basic pressure supplied tothe air cushions is set according to the driver's driving style. Themodification carried out by the driver now affects the value of thisbasic pressure.

ASR Control Unit 15:

The modification carried out by the driver usually leads to a change inthe slip thresholds. That is, the response of the ASR system ismodified. As an alternative or in addition, it is also possible tocontrol the transitional behavior of an ASR system from a firstoperating state (in which an ASR control has taken place) to a secondoperating state (in which no further ASR control is required). That is,control can be exerted, for example, over how much time should elapsebetween an intervention in the throttle valve that limits the enginetorque to achieve an intervention in the throttle valve that representsfull load operation of the engine.

Electrical Gas Control Unit 16:

In this case, the driver can alter the characteristic of the gas pedal,which describes the movement of the throttle valve as a function of theoperation of the gas pedal.

MGM Control Unit 17:

The driver can control the shift characteristics, which control the gaspedal positions at which upshifting or downshifting takes place, forexample.

Spring Damping Control Unit 18:

In this case, the driver can control the spring stiffness, for example.

As well as the affecting of the control signal by the driver shown inFIG. 2 in order to modify the operating mode of a control and/orregulating system that has been adapted to his driving style, furtherpossibilities of affecting this signal are also possible. Thus, thedriver can also modify the control or regulating law on which thecontrol or regulating system is based, for example, or he can affectcertain parameters.

To summarize, the invention concerns a device for setting up asteplessly or quasi-steplessly adjustable system, the adjustment beingrealized using an automatic function and an operating function. Byoperating a control device 2, the control quantity 1 determined by theautomatic function (i.e., by an appropriate control unit) is increasedor decreased by a specified value A by means of trimming. The automaticfunction can take place by means of a driving style classification, forexample. An automatic control or regulation of individual vehiclefunctions is carried out by means of the driver's acceleration, brakingand steering behavior. The operating function now enables theseautomatically adjusted functions to be changed by a predetermined valuein the plus or minus direction depending on the setting. Thispredetermined value is preferably 10-15% of the total variation range.If the driver's driving style now changes from a relaxed to a sportydriving style during the journey, the appropriate automaticallydetermined value is always incremented or decremented by the value seton means of control.

The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate theinvention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of thedisclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of theinvention may occur to persons skilled in the art, the invention shouldbe construed to include everything within the scope of the appendedclaims and equivalents thereof.

1-5. (canceled)
 6. A device for controlling at least one control orregulating system in a vehicle, comprising: means for detecting adriving style quantity classifying a driver's driving style; means forautomatically adapting operation of the at least one control orregulating system to the driver's driving style as a function of thedriving style quantity; and a control device operable by the driver tomodify the operation of the control or regulating system that has beenadapted to his driving style; wherein: a demand signal determined by thecontrol device is additively superimposed on a control quantitydetermined by the at least one control or regulating system forcontrolling actuating elements associated with the at least one controlor regulating system, to generate a trimmed control signal; and theactuating elements are controlled by means of the trimmed controlsignal.
 7. The device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the trimmed controlsignal lies within a specifiable trim range arranged around the controlquantity.
 8. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein: the trimmingrange is defined by a lower limiting value and an upper limiting value;and the limiting values can lie within or coincide with a totalvariation range of the control signal.
 9. The device as claimed in claim7, wherein: if the control quantity exceeds the upper limit value, thetrimmed control signal is set to the maximum value of the controlquantity; and if the control quantity falls below the lower limit value,the trimmed control signal is set to the minimum value of the controlquantity.
 10. A method for controlling at least one control orregulating system arranged in a vehicle, said method comprising:determining a driving style quantity which characterizes a driver'sdriving style; automatically adapting operation of the at least onecontrol or regulating system to the driver's driving style as a functionof the driving style quantity; and said driver modifying the operationof the at least one control or regulating system that has been adaptedto his driving style by actuating a control device; wherein saidmodification of the operation of the at least one control or regulatingsystem that has been automatically adapted to the driver's driving styleis carried out by, said control device generating a demand signal;additively superimposing the demand signal on a control quantity whichis determined by the control or regulating system for controllingactuating elements associated with the control or regulating system; andcontrolling the actuating elements by means of the trimmed controlsignal.